


A Promise Made

by iloveitblue



Series: Prompts [238]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-01
Updated: 2015-06-01
Packaged: 2018-04-02 09:14:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4054567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iloveitblue/pseuds/iloveitblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where they promised to marry each other when they're 30.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Promise Made

Clint was sure that it had been a joke.

Pretty sure.

He was on the heavy side of sure. Maybe. 

It had to be a joke right? They were practically children when they made that promise and - okay, Clint was 17 and Phil was 18, so not really children but not really adults either. Clearly it was a joke. it had to have been a joke, because if it wasn’t then-

No, Clint wasn’t even going to go there. He’s already pathetic enough to hold a torch for one of his best friends for, oh give or take, 12 years. Clint obviously isn’t Phil’s type, 12 years of being  ~~very platonic~~  friends proved that at least. 

He wasn’t going to hold on to hope that Phil would keep their promise. That’s silly. 

What? He’s supposed to believe that when the clock strikes 12, Phil is just going to magically fall in love with him and propose? Yeah, right.

Okay, so maybe the falling in love bit is a little too much, but still, proposing to your  ~~very platonic~~  best friend because you agreed to marry each other when you’re both still single at the age of thirty? Living up to that promise is freaky, Right?

Natasha shrugged, popping a grape into her mouth. “I’ve seen freakier.”

Sam placed his beer back on the kitchen counter and smiled, “Yeah, there was that one time that old guy-” 

“Stay on topic.” Clint reminded him.

Sam rolled his eyes, passing the plate of chips to Bucky. “Point is, it’s not the freakiest thing to happen.”

“Besides, you’ve practically been drooling over the man he has to have a row boat just to come talk to you.” Bucky joked, giving Sam a high five when the other man snorted. 

Natasha rolled her eyes at them, “Ignore them, they’re children.” She told Clint.

“I just wanna know if you guys think Phil would really go through with the promise.” Clint sighed.

Bucky and Sam shrugged. “I don’t see why not.” Bucky told him, spraying a generous amount of whipped cream on top of a nacho.

“That is disgusting. That should be illegal.” Sam told Bucky, scowling at the monstrosity in Bucky’s hand.

“Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.” Bucky grinned before shoving the whole thing into his mouth.

Clint stared at them for a moment before he turned to Natasha, the more sensible person in their circle. “Tasha?”

Natasha took a swig from her beer, “I say it’s not impossible. But answer me this.” She paused for dramatic effect, “Why does Phil have to be the one to keep the promise? Why don’t you be the one to propose?”

A chorus of ‘OOOH’s came from the other two before they started throwing food at Clint. After that, it gets a little blurry. They wake up the next morning with ink on their faces, a pig in the bathroom, and Natasha sleeping peacefully in Clint’s bedroom.

—

Natasha may or may not have been kidding but it made sense. Why was Clint worrying over Phil holding up their promise? Why couldn’t he? If he was  _so_  in love with Coulson, then why shouldn’t he be the one to propose? 

If Coulson said no then Clint could play it off as keeping his promise. No harm, no foul. 

If Coulson said yes- well, let’s not get our hopes up just yet.

—

“Happy Birthday!” Phil smiled, shoving a purple box into Clint’s hand as he made his way inside the apartment. “Did you buy everything I told you to?”

Clint rolled his eyes but grinned anyway as he closed the door behind him. “Yes, sir. Everything you need for my birthday dinner. It’s in the kitchen.”

Phil clapped his hands together and sighed happily. “Perfect.” He turned his hand to look at his watch, the watch Clint gave him last year. The red white and blue watch looked awfully out of place with Phil’s suit but Phil insisted on wearing it because it was from Clint and really, how was Clint supposed to reason with that?. “We’ve got approximately 4 hours to get everything ready before everyone gets here. So I’ll be in the kitchen while you go watch TV or something.”

Clint placed Phil’s gift for him on the nearest flat surface, and followed Phil to the kitchen. “Hey, no. I’m helping.”

Phil barked out a laugh at him, then turned to Clint when the blond remained silent. “Oh, you’re serious?”

“Yeah. It’s my party. I should help with the prep.” 

“Clint” Phil said, suddenly serious. “You’re my best friend and you know I wouldn’t say anything to hurt you, but you’re shit at cooking. We’re making food. Not poison.”

Clint bit the inside of his cheek so as to not give the man the satisfaction of seeing him laugh. “Fuck you, Coulson.” The smile that accompanied his words betrayed the pseudo-anger Clint was trying to convey.

Phil laughed, Clint was never going to get tired of that sound, and turned back to unloading the groceries from the bag. “Fine. But you don’t come within 3 feet of the stove.”

“I’m not that flammable.” Clint told him, helping with the groceries as well. 

“March of ‘06 begs to differ.” Phil raised an eyebrow at him.

“That was entirely Stark’s fault.” Clint said a little too quickly making Phil shake his head in fondness. 

“Wash the carrots, potatoes and shallots. Then get to peeling and slicing.”

“Yes sir.” Clint gave him a salute before getting to work. 

Phil removed his suit jacket and tie, folding them both and draping it over a chair. He rolled up his shirt sleeves before washing his hands then getting to the chicken. 

It was a domestic scene. A scene that Clint thought he could never have when he was a kid. It was a little surreal when he thought about it now, but it also felt so right, like his whole life was leading up to this moment. It was ridiculous, Clint knows, but that’s just how he saw it. All the shit he’s been through didn’t matter so long as he got to have this one moment.

Clint cleared his throat, trying for casual but probably sounding nervous instead, “Hey Phil,” Phil hummed in acknowledgement, not bothering to turn to Clint, “I remembered something funny.” 

“Uh-huh.” Phil placed a pan on the stove, turning it on then placing a piece of butter in the pan. 

“So, I’m thirty now,” Phil hummed again, adding something Clint couldn’t see to the pan that made it sizzle. “Remember when we were kids and we, uh” Damnit Clint, just spit everything out. Then you can laugh about this whole thing together. “We made that promise. To um, to marry each other when we’re both still single at 30?” 

Phil was silent for a long time, then he turned the stove off, taking the pan off the heat. He turned to face Clint with a small frown on his face. “Clint…”

Well, that’s the loudest and kindest no Clint will ever get. Clint’s throat bobbed, and he wished he just kept his mouth shut. He let out a shaky laugh. “Crazy right? What were we thinking?” Clint looked back down at what he was doing, trying to avoid Phil's eyes.

Clint was usually good at hiding his feelings behind a mask, but for some reason, his hands weren’t cooperating with him right now. Clint gripped the knife in his hand tightly and the knife was shaking with the force of it. Clint glared at it for a long while.

He froze when Phil’s hand touched his, urging him to let go of the knife before someone got hurt, most probably Clint. Phil placed the knife on the cutting board gently, while Clint continued to stare at the kitchen counter in front of him, white knuckling the edge. 

“I don’t know about you,” Phil started, “but I very clearly remember propositioning that promise to the boy I’d been in love with for months.” Clint’s head, snapped up to stare at Phil but the man wasn’t looking at him. Phil was staring at his hand on the counter. “I remember thinking that if I still loved you after that long a time, then I should probably step up. I remember counting down the years while I gathered the courage to ask you. Every year, on your birthday, I told myself I’d ask, and every year I chickened out. I told myself, this year, for sure. But then you asked me if I remember. And I do.” He took a deep breath in, “But you thought that that was a joke, so I’m not going to push it.” He smiled sadly at Clint and turned to go back to cooking. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make things-”

Clint didn’t let him finish, he pulled Phil by his hand and kissed him. Something Clint has wanted to do for 12 years. Phil let out a tiny yelp as their lips crashed together. 

Phil was unresponsive at first, and Clint pulled back to see if maybe, somehow, he’s misunderstood what Phil had said. Clint stared into Phil’s blue eyes, pupils dilated, and breath a little ragged before he felt Phil’s hand on his neck pulling him in so that their lips met again. Clint delighted in the moan he managed to elicit from the older man by pulling him closer and pressing their bodies flush together.

They part only when the kiss made breathing impossible. Clint rested their foreheads together, pleased at the dazed look in Phil’s eyes. “For the record, I’d been waiting to turn 30 since I was 18.”

Phil smiled and took that as a go ahead to kiss Clint again. Not that Clint was complaining.

—

4 hours later, they scramble to get their clothes back on as the knocks on Clint’s door kept getting louder and louder. Their friends took one look at them and smirked knowingly but started groaning when they found out that the food never got cooked.

**Author's Note:**

> [Here on tumblr](http://promptmephlint.tumblr.com/post/120451960111/i-ate-with-my-friends-today-i-feel-better-but-i)


End file.
